


To Reign in Hell

by Mochas N Mayhem (KoohiiCafe)



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Lesson 16 (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) Spoilers, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, everyone is a little shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:08:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoohiiCafe/pseuds/Mochas%20N%20Mayhem
Summary: Devi had never expected to have her hand given to another in an arranged marriage, but then... she had never expected her mother to wage war against the world and unite the ravaged remains of it under her own banner either. She hadcertainlynever expected that the man she was to marry would be the Demon King of hell itself, given that she had never believed hell or demons or anything of the sort even existed. Yet here she was, having been to both heaven and hell in turn, associating with angels and demons and millennia old sorcerers.Here she was, Prince of all the earth. Here she was, about to meet the King of the Devildom, and all seven of his Queens: about to meet alleightof the men she was soon to wed. Here she was, about to start a brand new life that she couldn't have ever imagined, a life forever condemned to hell.What was the old saying? Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven? Yeah, that sounded about right to her.
Relationships: Asmodeus/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Asmodeus/Main Character/Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Asmodeus/Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Beelzebub/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Diavolo/Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Diavolo/Lucifer/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Diavolo/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Leviathan/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Lucifer/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Lucifer/Simeon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Everyone, Mammon/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Satan/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Simeon/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by the [following prompt](https://panickedpansexualprincess.tumblr.com/post/625005430227238912/writing-prompt-three-things) that crossed my dash:  
>  _Three things: a marriage of two kings, a demon that doesn’t know its own nature, three sister queens_
> 
> Please note that all titles in this story are gender-neutral, and refer only to one's status within the hierarchy of things rather than one's gender; a 'king' can be a man, woman, or any other gender, as can any other normally gendered title.
> 
> This story features Devi, the same main character who appears in my series '[Of Love and Demons Loved](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760449).' If you'd like to see more of her in the normal Obey Me setting, you can check that out!

“I would ask if you're sure that’s what you want to wear to meet your future husband, but I’d like to think that I’ve learned when to pick my battles.”

Simeon’s voice was light and airy, teasing, his eyes shining with amusement even as, at their side, Luke huffed and brushed at invisible dirt on the hem of her suit jacket. Devi chuckled, grinning at both of them, and playfully reached down to tap a single finger on the tip of Luke’s nose; her grin widened, another laugh escaping, when the younger angel scowled up at her and batted her hand away.

“Simeon, this is serious,” he protested with a rather adorable pout, even as he took a step back and stopped fussing with her jacket. “Devi’s going to be meeting with the King of the Devildom and all seven of his queens! She’s representing the human world _and_ the Celestial Realm, this- this _outfit_ is _not_ appropriate! It’ll give those dirty _demons_ the wrong idea!”

“Oh I don’t know about _that_.”

All three of them turned as Solomon’s voice came from the doorway; the sorcerer was wearing a wide grin, his slate eyes running up and down Devi’s full form as he took in every detail of her suit. His grin only widened, the look in his eyes one of pure mischief, as he continued, “I think it sends the _perfect_ message, one that King Diavolo would be a fool to miss.”

“And what message is _that_?” Luke’s words were almost grumbled, his cheeks puffed out with his disapproval.

“That I am my own woman,” Devi finally spoke, her lips curved up with her amusement as she explained. “I conform to no one’s expectations, I make my own choices, and there is no one who can control me. Not my mother, not your father, not Michael, and not Diavolo either. Whether I am to become his king or not, I will _always_ be my own woman.”

She wasn’t sure if Luke’s answering fluster was at her disregard of Michael and his Father’s authority, at leaving off the king of the Devildom’s title, or just further disapproval of her suit of choice, but she simply laughed and turned back to the mirror, checking to be sure that everything was in its place one last time. The stark white of her suit jacket was crisp and unblemished, no matter how much Luke acted as if he needed to clean some speck of dirt from it, and the gold of the buttons that lined it were bright against it; the gold undershirt she wore beneath was shimmery and sheer and barely there, her dark skin popping against the white of the jacket; similarly, the thin sliver of dark skin that showed between the hem of her white shorts and the sequined gold thigh high boots she wore popped just as much; her hair had been left down, the dark purple wavy curls big and full, a single golden clip holding it back above one ear. Simeon had done her makeup, the shimmery gold of her eyeshadow and lipstick glimmering and catching the light as she turned her head, matching the glittering gold paint on her nails.

It had been a different experience, getting ready with the angels, from all the times she and Vette had done each other’s makeup and dressed up together over the years (and sometimes Quinn’s makeup too, and dressed _him_ up with them), but one she knew she would need to get used to; her lifelong friends had been left behind in the human world, watching over what remained of everything they had shared before her mother tore the world apart with her war. Simeon and Luke, and now Solomon, were her companions in this new life laid out before her, her guardians and advisors and teachers as she descended into hell itself. They’d been hand chosen by the archangel Michael himself, representatives from both the Celestial Realm and the human world who were meant to watch over her union with the king of the Devildom; to watch over the marriage that would represent the union of all three realms.

“It’s time,” Solomon said from just behind her, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror, and she nodded. As she turned, the one time king smiled and offered her the crook of his arm, teasing, “my king.”

Devi laughed even as she slipped her hand into his arm, smirking and answering, “I’m not a king yet. Besides, the day you bow to me or any other ‘royal’ will be the day hell freezes over.”

“Well,” Simeon said with laughter in his voice, falling into step behind them, “despite beliefs to the contrary, the Devildom _can_ be a rather cold realm.”

“Don’t encourage them,” she heard Luke grumble from the older angel’s side, but he followed after them regardless of his protests; she took a moment as they walked to be glad that, out of all the angels Michael could have sent with her, it had been Simeon and Luke. That, despite the two of them not seeing eye to eye in any way, shape, or form, he had specifically chosen the only two angels she’d found any semblance of friendship with during the time she’d spent in the Celestial Realm preparing for this very day.

It was still a shock, sometimes, despite how long it had been since the truth of the worlds had been revealed. A shock that angels and demons were, in fact real. That there _was_ a god- and that it was the god of the Jewish and Muslim people, the god that Christians worshipped. She’d never put much stock in any religion, much less the one of the loudly bleating evangelicals that littered the country and had been crying out about the end being nigh long before the war that had torn the world apart; her mother _certainly_ hadn’t tried to impart any religion to her children, and nothing in Devi’s life had ever led her to believe that any religion had even a grain of truth to it. But here she was now, walking through the halls of the Demon King’s palace with a pair of angels and a millennia old king blessed by God. About to meet the _Demon King_ himself, the man who would become her husband in order to bring peace to heaven, earth, and hell all three. And all because her mother had won the war for earth, and had become the self-appointed king of the human world. Because her mother had seen an opportunity to cast off her rebellious child, and had taken it at the first chance. Because, somewhere in her mother’s ancestry, there had been an _angel_ ; because the faintest trace of Celestial blood still ran through Devi’s veins, and it had made her the perfect candidate to represent both realms.

“We’re here,” Solomon’s voice said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the quartet as they moved through the palace halls. Devi brushed her thoughts away like cobwebs, turning her attention to the doors before them. They were grand, at least four times as tall as she was and thrice as wide each as any normal door; they were carved out of a pale marble that looked almost orange in the flickering light of the elegant candles that lined the walls, inlaid with what looked like gold.

Simeon stepped forward and around her; his lovely blue eyes found her own, and he didn’t speak for a moment, seeming to search her gaze. She let him, watching him in return, until he nodded slightly and gave her a small smile.

“You’re ready for this,” he said, and it was a confident statement. “You’ll do wonderfully.”

“I know I will,” she answered, giving him a smile of her own in return. This may not have been the kind of future she’d ever imagined for herself, or wanted, and it might not have been her first choice, but as she’d told Luke… She was her own woman. Even though it hadn’t been her _first_ choice, she _had_ chosen this. Not because her mother had been so eager to cast her off; not because Michael had been so eager to find a human of Celestial ancestry rather than condemn a full blooded angel to marriage with a demon; not because Diavolo had apparently been thrilled to accept her as his chosen king. She had chosen this because, if she could do _anything at all_ to heal the damage her mother’s war had inflicted on the world, she would. And this marriage… it meant peace, for all three realms, and it meant the _chance_ to heal.

Simeon stepped back once more, moving to a spot just behind and to her left; she knew Luke would be in a similar position behind Solomon, the four of them presenting a unified front for the Devildom to see. As she and Solomon stepped closer to the doors, they opened slowly before any of them could reach for them; standing beyond the doors was a demon she recognized, one she had met during multiple meetings to discuss the terms of uniting the three realms.

“Barbatos,” she greeted, her voice warm. The corners of his lips quirked up into his small, familiar smile, and he tipped his head to her in respect; unsurprisingly, given the formality of the day, he was in his demon form. She’d only seen him like this a handful of times, but the dark skeletal shape of his horns fascinated her just as much now it had every time before, and it still made her wonder to see the way his black and turquoise tail seemed to move of its own volition behind him. Rather than focus on it now, however, she instead tipped her head in return to him and smiled. “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s always a pleasure,” the demon said, the corners of his eyes crinkled just slightly. “If you’ll follow me, the King awaits your presence.”

“Of course,” she told him, and as one, she, Solomon, Simeon, and Luke fell into step behind him.

The huge room Barbatos led them into was as grandiose as the doors that had led to it; the floor was made up as the same pale marble as the doors as been, except for the thin gold veining that ran through it; the walls were a similar marble, but darker, with more of an orangish beige hint of color to them, and with more inlaid gold features to the trims; the room was lined with columns that matched the walls, with ornate trims at both ends; huge window-like doors on one wall showed a view that looked over all of the Devildom, and she could see a balcony beyond them. Then, there, at the head of the room, _he_ sat.

She’d seen pictures of him, of course, but had never actually met him; all the meetings she had attended, Diavolo himself had been absent from, sending Barbatos and Lucifer, his right hand, to conduct his business with the other realms. It was ‘to build anticipation,’ Barbatos had told her privately when she asked, amusement in his eyes; Lucifer had simply scoffed at them both at the thought, which, given the way she and Diavolo’s queen tended to butt heads, hadn’t surprised her. But seeing pictures and seeing the demon before her in person…

Those were two _very_ different things.

There was a line of seven ornate chairs sat at the head of the room, each of them occupied, but her eyes skipped right past them to what lay beyond.

There were two golden thrones behind the seven, both equally extravagant, equally huge, equally intimidating and eye-catching. One of them would have swallowed her, she thought, made her look like a child in comparison to the throne itself, but Diavolo… He seemed larger than life, the throne just perfect for him, just large enough to hold his powerful, muscular form.

His dark scarlet to black wings spread out behind him, almost reaching to the second throne they were so wide, and the gold that tipped them shone beautifully; his curved horns echoed the black to scarlet fade of his wings, as did the gold tips of them. His shoulders were broad beneath the black fur mantle he wore over them, the deep tanned tone of his wide and well muscled chest a contrast to the scrawling black lines that curved their way across his skin. The gold he wore everywhere looked perfect against his skin, from the multitude of golden coins that hung from a tall black collar, to the golden wings that clasped his mantle closed around a scarlet red jewel, to the golden chains that looped their around from his collar to his mantle and then around his body, to what looked like golden plates that lined his forearms; the white pants he wore, combined with the chains and gold that hung from them as well, were reminiscent of some Arabian fantasy, loose and flowing, parted at the sides and showing the tanned and toned sides of his legs; a white and gold loincloth hung over the front of the pants, the brightest part of his ensemble, the lines of gold in it shimmering with what she imagined was actual golden threading. His hair was artfully mussed and bright scarlet, hanging just over a pair of eyes that… she had seen his eyes in the pictures of course, but looking into them in person was almost like looking into a mirror, his eyes _just_ as golden as her own.

She felt her mouth go dry as the Demon King stood, a wide welcoming smile stretching across his face; she subtly licked her lips to wet them as he spread his arms out wide to her, calling out in a booming voice;

“Greetings Prince Devi, firstborn of King Raziela, leader of the human world. The Devildom is pleased to welcome you into our midst.” He paused, his golden eyes shining, his smile widening, and added, “ _I_ am pleased to welcome you into what is to become your home, and to finally meet my King-to-be. I have long waited for this day to come.”

Distantly, she noted that the seven demons between her and the king had risen during his address, but her eyes were only for Diavolo at the moment, her attention focused solely on her husband-to-be. Until they were wed, she was but a prince to his king; she bowed low, making a show of her respect for his station, and answered,

“The pleasure is all mine, King Diavolo, leader of the Devildom, firstborn of King Abbadon.” As she straightened once more, she gave him her most charming smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “Your pictures truly do you no justice; if I’d known you were this breathtaking, I would’ve insisted on coming to the Devildom sooner.”

There was what sounded like a disgusted huff from the small thrones in front of the king- Lucifer she suspected, but as she hadn’t met any of the other queens, she couldn’t be sure- and soft laughter from behind and beside her, but it was covered quickly by the full bellied laugh Diavolo let out in response.

“My my, aren’t _you_ the charmer.” The king was grinning still, and he stepped down from the platform that held the two large thrones. Moving to the line of his queens, he chortled and clapped a hand down on the shoulder of the first and eldest of them. “Lucifer, you should have told me she was so charming! I’m sure the two of you have gotten along _splendidly_ , and yet you hid this from me?”

A choked sound came from beside her; she didn’t dare look at Solomon, who had been present many of the times she and Lucifer had butted heads during meetings, but she knew the look that would be on his face if she did. She knew the look that was probably on Simeon’s face behind her too, given how much the angel all but lived to tease Lucifer any time they met.

For his part, Lucifer’s expression was almost pained as he coughed into one red gloved hand, as if clearing his throat, and answered, “It must have… slipped my mind.”

“You’ll have to forgive him, my king,” Devi spoke up, pure and utter mischief shining in her eyes. “I asked him not to tell you too much; I thought our meeting would be more enjoyable if we got to know each other personally, rather than secondhand. Thankfully, Lucifer was sweet enough to humor me.”

There was another choked sound, although this time it came from somewhere down the line of queens. The expression in Lucifer’s crimson eyes as he pinned them on her was pure venom; if looks could kill, it would have eaten through her like acid, leaving absolutely nothing behind. She smiled sweetly at him before turning back to Diavolo. The king was watching the interplay with clear amusement in his eyes, having very obviously caught onto her teasing and just as obviously having no intentions of putting a stop to it.

“Please, Devi,” he said instead, stepping out from behind Lucifer to stand beside him. “Call me Diavolo. We will be wed soon; what need is there for titles between those who are married?”

“My lord,” Lucifer started, but Devi spoke quickly above him, her smile widening.

“I would be honored… _Diavolo_.” She would have done it anyway, since he was asking her too, but the sharp look Lucifer gave her at forgoing Diavolo’s title? That was delicious icing on the cake.

“Wonderful,” Diavolo all but exclaimed, and hell, he had the joy of a child almost. It was… rather adorable, to be honest. And trying to imagine stiff, dour Lucifer being married to such a man for _millennia_? If nothing else, she would clearly never lack for entertainment in the Devildom. “Perhaps you’ll be a good influence on our queens! But for now- let’s proceed with introductions. Come, come on closer, _please_.”

“Anything for my husband-to-be,” she said, her voice playful. Luke grumbled something inaudible behind them, but as she stepped forward, moving closer to Diavolo and his queens, Solomon and the angels followed.

“You’ve met Lucifer, of course,” Diavolo began, and then turned to the demon in question. “My dear, why don’t you introduce your brothers to their soon-to-be king.”

“As you wish,” Lucifer answered, and the words were almost a growl. He paused, inhaled deeply, and then his expression smoothed out as he turned to look down the line of queens. He gestured first to the tanned demon beside him. “This is Mammon, the second eldest of us; he is the Avatar of Greed.”

“Yo,” Mammon said, and Devi bit back a laugh even as Lucifer quickly swatted the back of his head. Immediately the secondborn was squawking, rubbing at the spot where the avatar of pride had struck. “What was _that_ for?!”

“That is no way to greet the Prince of the human world,” Lucifer growled back, eyes flashing as his wings twitched behind him

“Now, now,” she interrupted him, her eyes sparkling. “Isn’t that up to _me_ to decide, _Queen_ Lucifer? After all, if there is any offense to be had, it would be from _me_ , not you, correct?”

“She is correct.” It was Barbatos who spoke up, standing just to one side of them all. He’d been quiet since leading them in, simply observing, but he was smiling slightly now, amusement written in his expression.

Lucifer looked like he wanted to argue, but after flashing a quick look at Diavolo- who was arching an eyebrow at him with his own amusement- he grit his teeth and finally nodded. “Of course. My apologies, Prince Devi.”

“Please,” she answered in her most benevolent voice. “As Diavolo said; what need have we of titles when we will soon be wed?” Here she paused, casting her eyes down the line of Lucifer’s brothers. Her voice was a little more serious when she continued, not holding quite the same teasing tone. “Call me Devi, all of you. Don’t feel the need to stand on ceremony. The time we’ll be spending together might be a blink of an eye to you, but for me, it will be the rest of my life. I’d rather not spend all of it worrying about whether or not we greeted each other in the proper order or anything as silly as that.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment; neither Diavolo, nor Lucifer, nor any of his brothers spoke. Rather, several pairs of eyes went somewhat wide as they looked at her, some familiar and some not. Lucifer’s eyes, especially, seemed to shift somehow, the anger slipping away from them strangely; she couldn’t quite place the emotion that replaced it. And then Diavolo chuckled, breaking the silence, and said,

“A charmer indeed, hmmmm. Clearly you were the right choice to become my king.”

“You’re too kind,” she told him, flashing him a smile before turning back to the line of queens. “So- Mammon, right?” She looked to the white haired demon at Lucifer’s side, and he nodded, an odd look on his face. “Yo.”

The grin that spread across his face was almost blinding, especially as he turned to smirk at Lucifer immediately after, laughing, “Ha! Looks like the _Great Mammon_ was alright, huh? How about that!”

“ _Mammon_ ,” the elder demon began to growl, and while Devi enjoyed annoying Lucifer, she didn’t want to get one of her queens-to-be murdered by him before the wedding even took place.

“So who is this handsome demon here,” she interrupted, looking to the purple haired demon on the other side of Mammon. He flushed immediately at her words, his cheeks going bright pink and his orange-gold eyes going wide in apparent shock.

“I- uh- I mean- _what_?” The words were stammered, the demon physically reeling backwards until he stumbled against his chair, clearly at a loss for words. Somewhere down the line there was a snicker, and Lucifer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“That is Leviathan, the third eldest of us. He is the Avatar of Envy- and he does not understand how to act in public, _clearly_.”

She arched an eyebrow at Lucifer, but didn’t reply, instead looking back at Leviathan. The flush of his cheeks was kind of cute, honestly, but he also looked half terrified, his tail flicking wildly back and forth behind him, so she turned her gaze down one more brother.

“I’m Satan,” the blond spoke up, not waiting for Lucifer to introduce him. The smile he gave her was charming, and from the look in his eyes, it was clear he’d been enjoying the show until now. Devi grinned back.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Satan. Should I ask what you’re the avatar of?”

“Wrath,” Lucifer answered for him, and he’d managed to find a smirk despite his previous aggravation. “Don’t trust his friendly facade; Satan is, perhaps, one of the most dangerous of us.”

“That sounds like high praise, coming from you,” she teased; Lucifer’s expression soured, even as Satan raised one hand to hide a chuckle.

“Believe what you wish, _Devi_ ,” the firstborn scowled, a kind of relishment in his voice at leaving off her title, and then continued, “when you find yourself at the mercy of his wrath, do not say that I didn’t warn you.”

“Don’t let him scare you away,” Satan laughed, merriment in his eyes. “I’m probably the most reasonable of my brothers, I promise.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she told him with a grin, and then turned her gaze to the strawberry-blond to his other side. “And you are?”

“Asmodeus.” He stepped forward, his voice honeyed, and if she’d thought Satan’s smile had been charming, well. She hadn’t seen Asmodeus’ yet, clearly. He reached for her hand as if to take it- and Luke was suddenly there, standing between her and the demon defensively.

“Don’t you touch her!” If Luke had been a cat, his fur would have been puffed out, his ears back, his tail sticking straight up. As it was, his hackles were clearly raised, and he stood as tall as he could make himself- which, really, wasn’t all that tall compared to either her _or_ Asmodeus. What he lacked in height, however, he made up for in righteous anger. “We’re here as her guardians, and I don’t trust you _demons_ : I am _not_ going to let you hurt her!”

“Luke…” She had to fight not to laugh. The young angel was sweet, if a little stuffy sometimes, and _extremely_ dedicated to Michael, but. This wasn’t the first time his issues with demons had gotten him like this. It was kind of cute- but unnecessary. She laid her hand on his shoulder, feeling Simeon shift behind her as if ready to step in if he needed to. “It’s fine. I’m here with you, Simeon, and Solomon- and I’m going to be married to them soon. I don’t think Asmodeus is going to hurt me.”

“It seems your _guard dog_ is lacking training,” Lucifer drawled slowly, smirking down at the angel. Devi scowled at him, because dammit, that was _not_ going to help. “If you wish, I could train him for you. I’m _very_ good with disobedient whelps.”

“If anyone needs training,” she shot back, giving Luke’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, “I would think it’s you; does the _Avatar of Pride_ truly not know how to properly treat an ambassador from the Celestial Realm?”

Lucifer’s smirk disappeared immediately, even as Asmodeus tittered from where he still stood in front of Luke. Devi didn’t wait for him to respond, but turned her attention back down to Luke.

“I’ll be alright. If I’m going to be in a relationship with Asmodeus, then I need to get to know him. Right?” She raised her eyebrows at him, keeping her tone light. Luke looked up at her for a moment… and then finally huffed, his defensive posture relaxing a little.

“Right,” he said, though not without a frown. She smiled, leaning down to give him a quick peck on the cheek. Flushing, he turned around quickly and headed back to where he’d been standing behind Solomon before.

“A _relationship_ , hmmmmm?” Asmodeus’ voice was melodic, his accent on the word making it seem almost sinful. He reached for her hand once more- thankfully _without_ any interruptions this time- and raised it so he could brush a kiss across her knuckles, looking up at her as he did so. “Most marriages of this kind are strictly political, you know… But I could make an exception for someone as beautiful and fashionable as you, my dear.” He paused, running his golden-sunset toned eyes up and down her form- pointedly lingering on the skin tight white shorts she wore beneath her suit jacket, and the sliver of skin that showed between the shorts and her boots- and finally looked into her eyes once more. “Why, you’re _almost_ as beautiful as I am.”

“Asmo is the Avatar of Lust,” Solomon said from beside her, and his tone was amused. “I would suggest not looking into his eyes; he has the ability to charm others into doing whatever he wishes.”

The demon’s gaze shifted to the sorcerer immediately- and then a pout took over his expression, his brows furrowing as he complained, “ _Really_ Solomon, do you think I’d do that to someone I’m going to _marry_? You know me better than that!”

“That’s exactly why I’m warning her,” Solomon chuckled, shaking his head. “Because I _know you_.”

Her eyebrows arched up as she looked back and forth between the two, surprise mixing with amusement at their little back and forth. Curious, she asked, “How do you two know each other?” And then, after a pause, she lightly swatted at Solomon’s arm and added, “And when were you planning on telling me?”

He smirked at her, answering, “Asmo is one of the demons I have a pact with. I planned on telling you today, and I have just now, haven’t I?”

 _Smart-ass_.

“You’re a smart-ass, you know,” she said, and with a shake of her head, she turned back to the demon before her. “I look forward to getting to know you- Asmo?” She put a bit of a question into the name; just because Solomon had called him that didn’t mean that was his preferred name.

“Asmo is fine,” he answered, and gave her another one of those smiles. “I look forward to getting to know _all_ of _you_ as well.”

Lucifer cleared his throat, apparently having regained his composure while she, Asmo, and Solomon had talked, and nodded to the tall redhead at the avatar of lust’s side.

“This is Beelzebub; he is the sixth eldest of us, and the Avatar of Gluttony.”

The demon looked up at the sound of his name, although his attention was all for his oldest brother as he asked; “When are we eating? I’m hungry.” He was rubbing his stomach forlornly, his frown deep and eyebrows furrowed. He almost looked… like he was in _pain_.

Devi frowned herself, trying to remember what Simeon had been teaching her about the nature of demons closely tied to any one sin. She tuned out the way Lucifer scolded his brother for a moment, searching her memories. Demons who were closely associated with a sin… _felt_ that sin strongly. That had to apply to the demons who were the literal avatars of a sin more so than lower leveled demons. If Beelzebub was the avatar of gluttony…

She looked up and towards Barbatos- only to find that he was watching her with that mysterious little smile of his. She had a feeling that he’d known what she was going to say before she’d even thought it, but she didn’t let that stop her from interrupting Lucifer’s scolding to ask,

“I know that dinner wasn’t scheduled until later, but how soon can it be ready?”

“I can have it ready in just a few minutes,” he answered. She smiled at him, and he nodded before his eyes shifted to the demon king.

She didn’t know Diavolo- not yet. She’d only just met him, and while her initial impression was good, she knew better than to trust just what he let show on the surface. He’d been the King of the Devildom for millennia, and he hadn’t gotten to that position without getting his hands dirty, firstborn or not. But she’d known Barbatos for some time now, and she’d come to like him. To trust him, even. As loyal as he was to Diavolo…

“I’m feeling somewhat peckish,” she said, looking to Diavolo. “How would you feel about eating sooner rather than later?”

The smile he gave her was just as blinding as the very first he’d given her. He chuckled, nodding to Barbatos, and answered, “That sounds perfect! Sharing a meal is a wonderful way to get to know one another, after all!”

“Agreed,” she said, smiling as she watched Barbatos quietly slip away, and then turned back to Lucifer’s brothers. Beelzebub’s face had lit up while she’d been asking her questions, and his almost euphoric expression was one of the sweetest things she’d seen in awhile. Her smile widened as she told him, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Beelzebub.”

And then her gaze turned to the last of the queens; he was the only one in the room not standing, and was instead slouched in his chair, looking for all the world like he was asleep. She looked to Lucifer, arching an eyebrow, and he frowned.

“That is Belphegor, the Avatar of Sloth; it appears he and I will need to have a talk about proper behavior during a meeting such as this.” Scowling deeper, the raven-haired demon all but stalked towards what she assumed was his youngest brother, given the order everyone had been introduced in. Beelzebub, seeming to notice Lucifer’s anger, looked quickly toward Belphegor; before Lucifer had reached his youngest brother, Beelzebub had shaken him quickly awake, quietly hissing something in his ear. By the time Lucifer _reached_ Belphegor, the demon was pushing himself to his feet, scowling just as deeply as the older demon.

“What,” he said simply, blinking slowly as he looked up at the angry eldest. Then, before Lucifer had answered, he looked _past_ his brother, straight at Devi. His scowl inexplicably deepened, and he muttered, “Oh. _That_ ,” before once more looking away.

Her eyebrow arched higher, the second joining the first. Well that was interesting.

“Your _future king_ is with us, Belphegor. You will greet her properly, will you not?” Lucifer’s words were hissed, the edges of them sharp and jagged. Without looking back at her, Belphegor muttered,

“Greetings, prince. Welcome to the Devildom.”

Maybe ‘interesting’ wasn’t the right word. That was… _Something_.

If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought that she could actually _feel_ the anger that was pouring off of Lucifer in waves. The rest of his brothers, Belphegor excluded, were certainly looking at him with varying degrees of fear, amusement, and concern. But, before his anger could come to a head, Barbatos reappeared, calling serenely,

“Dinner is ready, my lords.”

And, Beelzebub immediately taking off at the words, that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious, Devi's outfit is based on a mixture of [this suit](https://64.media.tumblr.com/fc742b0ba283827eaef2a0453e0a5800/dcca464f984596fe-92/s1280x1920/dcb85d99d39c5b250bc85f20d80da7195ffcaf43.jpg) and [this suit](https://64.media.tumblr.com/90a3ab55ecbca44ad5e16fe8ae979097/dcca464f984596fe-1e/s640x960/2f0d2728eb1eff31ff719bc936841234227a5327.jpg). Because... Devi would. XD
> 
> As always, many thanks to my wife, [Gyhl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyhl), who is my beta and who gets to put up with me shoving stuff at them and praying that it's okay. XD Many thanks to m'darlin' [PhantomFox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomFox/pseuds/PhantomFox) for helping beta as well!
> 
> Devi also features in my Soulmate AU, '[Nine Parts of a Whole](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27302362),' and in my series '[Of Love and Demons Loved](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760449),' set in the normal Obey Me universe. If you're curious what she looks like, I have a [character visual reference post](https://panickedpansexualprincess.tumblr.com/post/615583468262457344/a-visualization-post-for-my-mc-devi-from-obey-me) over on tumblr!
> 
> If you're on tumblr, you can find me at [PanickedPansexualPrincess](http://PanickedPansexualPrincess.tumblr.com).


	2. Chapter 2

Seating around the dinner table was a simple affair, if a little lopsided: given his title of king, Diavolo naturally sat at the head of the table: Lucifer sat at his right, his brothers lined up in order of age to his right: Devi found herself sitting across from Lucifer at Diavolo’s left ( _and oh boy, this was going to be entertaining_ ), Solomon, Simeon, and Luke at her left.

No sooner had the last of them sat down- Belphegor, it looked like, the avatar of sloth moving much slower than any of his brothers, and seated the farthest distance away from the door- than the originally empty table had filled. Place settings appeared before each occupied seat, elegant and ornate plate and flatware gilded with what she was fairly certain was real gold; much larger plateware appeared in the center of the table set amongst the candles that lit it, loaded with different kinds of foods, many of which she didn’t recognize; several goblets appeared with each place setting, some of them already full of varying colored liquids, others empty still and waiting to be filled. It wasn't the _most_ magic she’d seen since Michael had appeared before her mother and Devi had been offered up like a ceremonial lamb, but it was the most _casual_ use of magic she’d seen so far. In the Celestial Realm, magic had mostly been treated like a powerful tool to be wielded carefully, and while Solomon regularly used magic before her, it was always in her lessons with him, meant as a teaching tool; here in the Devildom, however, it was being used for something as simple as serving a meal.

Her surprise must have shown on her face, for Solomon was leaning over and grinning, his voice teasing as he told her,

“Just wait until you see the Little Ds; they all but _seep_ magic with every little thing they do.”

‘Little Ds?’ she echoed back in her own mind, trying to remember if she’d learned about them already and forgotten, or if her lessons haven’t gotten to them yet. Across the table, Lucifer smirked, speaking up before she could figure it out.

“Little Ds are a specific subclass of demons, and one of the most plentiful there are; I’m surprised that Simeon hasn’t taught you of them yet.” He paused, his crimson gaze sweeping down past Solomon to the angel in question, his smirk turning gloating. “Perhaps he is not as… diligent in his duties as he once was? Has the work ethic of the Celestial Realm fallen so far since my brothers and I left?”

Devi _felt_ , more than heard, the way Luke started to bluster at the insult to both Simeon and the Celestial Realm as a whole, but Simeon laughed and answered before the younger angel could actually respond, his voice playful,

“There _has_ been quite a lot of ground to cover when it comes to educating our young Prince; she only recently learned of our very existence, after all.” She didn’t have to look down the table to know the challenging look that had to be in Simeon’s eyes; she could _hear_ it in his voice, had seen it before plenty of times, usually directed at Lucifer over the negotiating tables. _Oh no, what was he_ \- “If you think you could do any better, Queen Lucifer, then you are more than welcome to try.”

… She was going to kill him. _If Lucifer took him up on that_ -

“Are you admitting that you are _inadequate_ to teach the Prince what she needs to know of what is to become her kingdom?” Lucifer challenged in return.

“Not inadequate, no,” Simeon replied; she _did_ look down the table this time, and he had his chin propped up in one hand, smiling down at the queen, clearly unbothered by the barb. “I’m sure I’m not as knowledgeable about the _nuances_ of the Devildom as the Avatar of Pride himself, though.”

What was he _doing_? Was he _trying_ to goad Lucifer into taking over his position as one of her tutors? Was he _trying_ to-

“That’s a good point, Simeon!” Diavolo was grinning widely beside her, his tone just as cheerful as it had been since he’d welcomed her in the throne room, and _oh no_. No, no, no, no, _no_. “Perhaps you should _both_ act as Devi’s tutors! Simeon, you can continue to teach her of the Celestial Realm, and Lucifer, you can act as her new teacher when it comes to the Devildom. Surely my king-to-be would benefit from your private tutorship, my dear!”

Devi’s only consolation, as she looked across the table at Diavolo’s queen, was that Lucifer _looked_ as horrified as she _felt_.

“What a wise decision, my king.” Barbatos had appeared at Diavolo’s side, a pitcher in hand as he gracefully took up the king’s goblet to fill it with some thick, dark liquid that she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the origins of. “It would also have the benefit of giving the Queen and young Prince the chance to become better acquainted; as she pointed out, she will be spending the rest of her life with him.”

She was going to kill him. She was going to kill _them both_.

‘ _I hate you so much_ ,’ she mouthed at the Archduke of the Devildom, uncaring that Diavolo and any of the queens who looked her way could see. Barbatos smiled serenely at her in lieu of an answer, his eyes glittering with his amusement.

“Then it’s settled,” Diavolo said with a grin, and there was a note of finality to the words. The Demon King had spoken, and as Queen and Prince respectively, they were bound to obey.

 _Shit_.

“We can discuss the details later,” Diavolo continued, and waved down the table to the waiting food. “Let us feast for now! Barbatos has been working hard in preparation to receive our Prince and her ambassadors; we don’t want any of it to go to waste!”

There was a sound of joy from somewhere down the table, and although she wasn’t too familiar with all the queens yet, she thought it was Beelzebub; a glance down the table proved her correct, the redhead seemingly magically already have piled his plate so high that she could barely see him over it. ( _For all she knew, it **was** magic, given how the table itself had been filled; she’d have to ask Solomon later._) Beside him, Asmo rolled his eyes, somehow making the act elegant, and delicately began to fill his own plate as his other brothers did the same. Sighing, she turned her attention to the food before her to do the same.

 _Now_ the question was- what to take? She didn’t recognize _most_ of the food laid out, and while she knew Barbatos wouldn’t have put anything before her that wasn’t safe for human consumption, many of the choices just looked flat out… unappealing.

“Let me give you a hand,” Solomon said with a smug little smile beside her, having picked up on her uncertainty. He’d obviously enjoyed her new predicament with Lucifer just as much as Barbatos ( _and probably Simeon, she was going to kill him_ ) had, but. It was done, there was no use getting frustrated at his amusement ( _that would just amuse him **more** , really_), so she huffed and told him,

“Go for it.” She’d eaten together with the sorcerer enough that she trusted him not to lead her _too_ far astray ( _although she half suspected he might give her one or two strange things just for the amusement of watching her try to eat them_ ).

“As you command,” he teased, and it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“Oh yes, I _command_ the great King Solomon to serve my dinner,” she laughed. “Because you are just _so_ commandable.”

“He _really_ is.” The words floated from down the table, surprising her, and when she looked, Asmo was smirking towards them. “Not _all_ the time, of course, but if you catch him in the right mood~”

“If you could please _not_ , Asmo,” Satan interrupted, glaring as he picked up his fork to begin eating, and oh, she was tempted. She couldn’t see Solomon’s face, but from the way Asmo was smiling sweetly back, she could imagine the look he was likely giving the demon, and. Anything that could provide her with ammunition against the sorcerer…

Simeon leaned forward, just far enough that she could see him past Solomon; his eye caught hers, and he nodded subtly to the place seating on his other side. _Right_. _Luke_ was sitting right there, across from Satan, wasn’t he? The corners of Simeon’s eye crinkled with amusement, as if he could see her realization, and he leaned back, his mission apparently accomplished. She’d just have to find time to talk to Asmo later; it wasn’t like there wouldn’t be _plenty_ of time in her future to talk to one of the demons who would soon be her queen.

“So, what do we have here, and what should I start with,” she asked instead, Solomon having turned back to selecting their food while she’d had her little exchange with Simeon.

“I recommend the netherfire salmon and tartarus asparagus in brimstone aspic.” It was Diavolo who spoke, and Devi watched with some amusement as, about to pull their plates back, Solomon paused and instead reached for a plate that had- she wasn’t sure quite _what_ it was that was on it. It looked like some kind of jello, molded into the shape of a flower, but the jello itself was clear and was filled with, well, she supposed it was the netherfire salmon the king had mentioned. Solomon cut out a piece for each of them, and when he placed her plate before her, she lifted a fork to prod it curiously.

It _wiggled_.

“A favorite of yours?” she asked, and when she glanced up, it was to find Diavolo watching her with an amused look of his own.

“The netherfire salmon and tartarus asparagus are both especially fresh this time of year, and Barbatos has a talent for bringing the smoky flavor of it all together perfectly,” he answered.

“If I made it for my lord as often as he wished,” Barbatos said from his place a step behind and to Diavolo’s right, his voice lightly teasing, “he might actually give Beel a run for his grimm.”

The king laughed in reply, his head dipping slightly, looking almost- _bashful_?- at being called out. How on earth- er, in the Devildom- did a demon king who had ruled hell for _millennia_ manage to pull off looking bashful? She wasn’t sure, but- he definitely did, and it was rather adorable.

The Demon King of the Devildom was _adorable_. How the hell...

“‘Give Beel a run for his grimm,’ huh?” It was Mammon who spoke up, a wondering look on his face when Devi glanced across the table.

“ _No_ ,” Lucifer ordered from beside him, not even bothering to look at his brother. “Whatever foolish scheme you are attempting to come up with, you will forget; you will _not_ involve our king in your tomfoolery.”

She tried. _Honestly_ , she tried. A snort of laughter escaped despite her best efforts.

Mammon, who had looked ready to bluster back at the elder queen, froze, turning to stare at her instead, and his weren’t the only eyes she could feel on her. She didn’t look down the table, sure she would see at least one or more of his other brothers staring; she didn’t meet Lucifer’s eyes either, but instead half coughed into her hand before turning to her fish-and-veggie-jello, her lips twitching uncontrollably.

“Is there something you find amusing?” Lucifer’s words were a slow drawl, something dangerous in his tone. Rather than intimidate her, it just made it harder to keep from laughing.

“I’m sorry, just,” she began, and somehow she even managed to keep her tone even. “‘Tomfoolery?’ I know you’re thousands of years old, Lucifer, but really?”

There wasn’t just _one_ choked noise from farther down the table, there were _several_ ; honestly, if she hadn’t already known at least a little about how hardy demons were, she might have thought one of them was dying, the sound was so loud. When she let her gaze flit up towards the avatar of pride, his crimson eyes were- for him- wide, something like shock in them. His lips twisted, a retort surely on them-

And Diavolo laughed. It was a loud, boisterous laugh, echoing on the marble floors and walls of the dining hall, and it only died away after he’d clapped his hand on Lucifer’s back with enough force that the queen’s chair screeched as it shifted slightly forward. His grin was wider than she’d seen it yet, his eyes all but dancing with mischief, and when he opened his mouth to speak, she saw something like dread pass through Lucifer’s expression quick as a flash.

“You _are_ much older than I am, my dear. Does that make you my ‘old man?’”

Simeon cracked first; Devi and Solomon followed almost immediately, laughter spilling from them and down the table like the tide reaching for the moon until it spread to Luke as well. Barbatos’ shoulders were quivering subtly; Satan broke next, laughing into one hand, before it swept over Asmo and Leviathan and Mammon, and then she thought she could even hear it from the other side of Beelzebub’s giant pile of food.

Only when her laughter had died down enough to breathe again did she look up at Lucifer once more, and. Oh hell, the _look_ he was giving her. Devi gave him her absolute sweetest smile and, scooping up a forkful of fishy jello, she silenced her own laughter fully with a bite.

* * *

Dinner passed by quickly after that; she found herself chatting easily with not only her soon-to-be husband, but also several of Lucifer’s brothers. Mammon, she found, was absolutely brimming with energy, even if it was often cowed by Lucifer’s dark glare; she had a feeling that, if she could get to know him _away_ from his elder brother, things might get _much_ more entertaining. Leviathan ( _or Levi, she found he preferred_ ) had been mostly quiet until Simeon had gotten him started on what was apparently his favorite subject: a book series turned movies called The Tale of the Seven Lords. Suddenly the seemingly shy avatar of envy had come fully alive, chatting at what felt like a mile-a-minute with Simeon and Solomon both about the series; when she’d admitted that she hadn’t heard of it before, _oh boy_ had she gotten an earful, as well as a promise ( _threat?_ ) that she _would_ be introduced to and taught all about it.

Satan was… A force to be reckoned with, she finally decided; he always seemed to have just the right comment at just the right time, seemed to know something about every topic that came up, always had a ready smile and witty addition to the conversation. Remembering Lucifer’s comment about his friendly face being a facade, it just made her wonder how true it was, and how much of the real Satan she was actually seeing. Asmo was a flirt to rival ( _and probably succeed_ ) herself, which she wasn’t sure who that said more about, herself or Asmo; she had a very good feeling that the pair of them were going to _very much_ get along, and she definitely looked forward to chipping away at that flirty exterior to see what lay behind it. Beelzebub, unfortunately had been a little far down the table to talk with, but then, from what she’d been able to tell, he’d been occupied with his meal the entire time, and Belphegor… The avatar of sloth had never once looked her way, even after Beelzebub’s plate had been emptied enough to see him over it. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, or of him.

And then there was Diavolo himself… Diavolo was.

Everything and nothing that she had expected the Demon King of the Devildom to be. He looked just like the pictures she’d seen of him, but in person, he was so much more. There was a sheer force to simply being in his presence, to standing before him, sitting beside him. She knew so little of magic still, had only recently begun exploring her own magic in her lessons with Solomon, but she didn’t have to be a full blown sorcerer to recognize the power Diavolo exuded with every breath. But as intimidating as he could have been- perhaps _should_ have been regardless- he simply. _Wasn’t_.

Diavolo was, quite frankly, _the_ most cheerful man she had ever met in her life. His smile had never once faltered, the entire time they’d been together, and he seemed to constantly have a ready laugh, jest, tease. He’d done his best to keep _her_ smiling too, as well as everyone else around them ( _although Lucifer had seemed almost immune to his cheer, which had been amusing in its own way_ ). Not once had she seen a single crack in the face he’d shown her, not once had he seemed to slip into anything less than what he had presented. It was either his genuine personality, or _the_ most carefully crafted facade she had ever seen… which was saying a lot, considering the way she’d watched her mother sweet talk her way into alliances time after time, despite her history of absorbing her allies when she was done with them.

Of course, it had only been one evening: there was still time for that to change.

After dinner, Diavolo had dismissed his queens before he and Barbatos led Devi and her small entourage on a limited tour of the palace. ( _A full tour, Barbatos had explained, would take several days, and she’d agreed when he’d suggested maybe another time._ ) Even the limited tour had taken up hours of the evening though, and the palace itself… She’d thought, when her mother had deposed their country’s king and taken his crown for herself, that the royal palace had been extravagant, and it had been, much more so than even the sprawling estate she had grown up on; it was _nothing_ compared to the Demon King’s palace. There was _so much history_ , steeped into the walls, into everything within those walls. Millennia of existence, a palace that had belonged not just to Diavolo and his father Abbadon for the millennia that they had lived, but to multiple Demon Kings before them for the millennia that _they_ had lived. It was. Hard to fathom, especially with as cheerfully as Diavolo would talk about events that had happened thousands of years before she had been born as if they had happened only yesterday.

It was… tiring. In a way that she wasn’t sure she could really describe. By the time the tour had come to an end, Devi had found herself ready to just _rest_. Barbatos, bless him, ( _were you supposed to bless demons? What was the demonic version of a blessing? She certainly didn’t want to curse him_ ) had seemed to know how tired she was even before she had realized. He’d distracted Diavolo handily with a casual comment wondering if Lucifer had decided to stay up late working in his study, which had sent the King off quickly to check on his queen; then, sharing an amused smile with them, he’d lead each of the angels, then Solomon, and then herself back to the suites they’d been provided with.

Now, finally alone, she flopped back on the huge bed that took up a majority of her new suite’s bedroom, not even bothering to take off her boots or any of her clothes. She would deal with undressing and cleaning off her makeup later, right now she just wanted…

Without actually moving from the prone position on her back that she’d dropped into, Devi unbuttoned the front of her suit jacket so she could withdraw the device Barbatos had given her when the negotiations for her marriage to Diavolo had been finalized. It was almost identical to the cell phones from the human world, although in the Devildom they were called D.D.D.s; not only did it connect to what was left of the mobile network in the human world, but it also connected to similar networks in both the Celestial Realm and the Devildom. It was also the only connection she had to her life from before; before the war, before the revelation of the worlds, before she’d become a sacrifice for peace.

She dialed Vette’s number and, toggling on the speaker, dropped the device next to her head; it barely rang twice before the line clicked, and-

“ _So, how was he?! Is he as hot in person as he is in the pictures?_ ”

Her oldest friend’s voice was tinny over the speaker, and all Devi could do was laugh for a moment. Of _course_ that’s what Vette would ask first. She’d seen the same pictures of the Demon King that Devi had, and had teased her relentlessly over ‘ _bagging such a hunk of a man_ ,’ regardless of what species he was or what realm he lived in or what circumstances had led to it happening.

There was a scoffing sound, an almost static like noise that she imagined was her _other_ oldest friend jostling Vette to get to the phone, and then Quinn’s smooth, calm voice was washing over her.

“ _What she **means** to ask is; how has your first day in the Devildom been? Have they been treating you well?_” His voice was even, and to anyone who didn’t know him as well as she did, he would have sounded perhaps somewhat worried, but reserved.

Devi knew better.

“I’m fine,” she reassured him, hoping to assuage the unspoken threat of his words. Quinn might have been only human, might have no magic and no way to reach the Devildom, but she had zero doubts that he would _find_ a way if he thought the demons she was to marry had hurt her. She’d seen him in battle, fought beside him for their lives even before the war had begun; she knew _exactly_ how deadly her deceptively aloof friend… her _lover_ … could be, especially when the people he cared about were at stake. “No one- other than Lucifer, of course- has been anything but cordial and welcoming. I’ve been with Simeon, Luke, and Solomon all day besides; I’ve had plenty of protection.”

She paused and, unable to resist, added, “And _yes_ , Vette; he _is_ just as breathtaking in person as he was in the photos. Perhaps even _more_ so.”

The other woman squealed in excitement, loudly enough that the speaker crackled a little with it; Quinn’s unamused ( _no, **somewhat** amused, she could tell, whether he was trying to hide it or not_) huff was almost lost beneath the sound. The familiarity of it made her smile wider than she had all day. They had only parted for the last time the day before, the last day she’d spent in the human world, but the missing presence of them both was already something of an empty place in her heart. She and Vette had been together since they were children, and Quinn had joined them in their teens; they were more than friends, more than family, more than lovers. Knowing that they would no longer be a daily part of her life was an ache that wouldn’t fade for longer than she cared to imagine.

“ _Must you encourage her, my lord,_ ” Quinn asked when Vette had calmed down enough for him to be heard. The title, rolling off his lips, made her laugh again, which she imagined had been his intent. Titles had never been important between them, not when she had been a marquess and he a mere soldier, and not when her mother had become King and she a prince either; there was too much history between them, too many things they had shared together, done together. He always used them regardless, and whether he was being facetious, teasing, or simply insistently formal changed on a by-the-title basis.

“Yes,” she told him, giving him her best imperious tone, “I believe I must.”

“ _We women have to stick together,_ ” Vette added, and if Quinn wasn’t rolling his eyes at her, then Devi would eat her- she didn’t have a hat to eat, but she’d do _something_ equally ridiculous.

“ _Indeed,_ ” Quinn said dryly, “ _as you have told me many times over the years. How could I forget?_ ” There was a rustling sound- she assumed the pair were getting settled in to talk - and then he spoke again, his voice more serious. “ _You mentioned Lucifer. Has he been giving you trouble?_ ”

“No worse than usual,” she answered, and the sound that escaped her was a laughing huff. “It was _Simeon_ who actually caused the most trouble today.”

“ _Simeon_ ,” Vette echoed, amusement in her voice. “ _The super hot angel with the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen?_ ”

“You know as well as I do that, angel or not, he’s a little shit,” Devi laughed, and she heard laughter from both of them echo back over the line.

“ _Fine, you got me, I know he’s not nearly as innocent as he looks. Now spill; what has our not-so-innocent angel been doing that was worse than Lucifer, the literal devil?_ ”

Devi tried not to snort- and was mostly successful. It was a good thing Vette had never been a part of the formal negotiations; comments like that, while hilarious, would _not_ have been conducive to actually getting anything worked out.

“Thanks to Simeon’s teasing, I now get to have _one on one_ lessons about the Devildom with _Lucifer_.”

“ _What?_ ” Their voices overlapped, and she could imagine the way they would be exchanging looks. The way Quinn’s brow was probably furrowed, his dark blue eyes narrowed, his jaw set. The way Vette’s paler blue eyes were likely wide, her own eyebrows arched upwards in surprise.

“ _How did **that** happen?_” It was Vette who spoke first, and Devi half huffed in response.

“Diavolo might be the Demon King of the Devildom, but he’s apparently just as mischievous as Simeon is. He _enjoyed_ watching Lucifer and I bait each other, and as soon as Simeon gave him an opening, he _decreed_ that Lucifer would be my new tutor in all things demonic.”

There was silence for a moment- and then Vette, the traitor, started _laughing_. Not just a _little_ bit of laughter, but loud, high pitched fits of giggles that would have rivaled Diavolo’s full on belly laughs. An offended noise left Devi’s lips, and then, just barely audible below Vette’s laughter-

“Not you too, Quinn,” she grumbled, but. She knew that low laughter, could perfectly picture the way his lips would be twitching as he tried not to smirk, and dammit, “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“ _I am always on your side, **my lord** ,_” he answered, even as his voice trembled with suppressed laughter, and despite herself, Devi found her own lips trying to twitch up into a smile. After a moment, she couldn’t bite back her own laughter; she threw one arm over her face, covering her eyes as if that would make the entire situation less ridiculous, and just…

“ _It sounds like you might have met your match,_ ” Vette teased when she’d stopped laughing enough to speak, although her voice was still shaking.

“Oh please,” she told the other woman, not bothering to try and disguise her amused snort. “I met my match in you two _years_ ago.”

“ _Well yeah. But we’re not the ones you’re-_ ” Vette’s voice cut off abruptly, but she didn’t need to finish the sentence for all of them to know what she had been about to say.

Vette and Quinn weren’t the ones she was going to spend the rest of her life with. Not anymore.

“Have my mother or sister given you any trouble yet?” she asked, refusing to let herself linger over the thought. She’d chosen this new life; she couldn’t allow herself to regret it now.

“ _Not in the least_ ,” Quinn answered, recovering faster than Vette. She could hear him swallow, and he continued, his voice betraying nothing, “ _Without you to lead us, I don’t believe Raziela or Khaterah see us as a threat any longer. Your mother will likely have her spies keep her informed of our actions for some time, but I doubt she intends to make any moves against us._ ”

“Keep an eye on Khaterah,” she told him, and her voice was firm. It was a command, and they both knew it. “I don’t trust that she will leave you be simply because I’m no longer there.”

Newly appointed heir to the throne of the human world, Khaterah was more dangerous now than she had ever been. Devi _refused_ to let her sister threaten the people she loved.

“ _By your command, my king,_ ” Quinn said softly, and his voice was tender. _Too_ tender, painfully so. Her eyes slid closed behind her arm, and it was her turn to swallow thickly.

“If she shows any signs of moving against you- _any signs at all_ … I expect you to inform me.” These words, too, were an order. One not to be denied. “Whether the wedding has happened yet or not, I will find a way to send you reinforcements.”

If Diavolo was truly as he seemed, truly as eager for peace and dedicated as he appeared to be, if he was the kind of demon Barbatos had described him as and Lucifer claimed he was, he would be willing to help. If he wasn’t… sworn to be married or not, neither heaven nor hell would be able to keep her from the people she loved.

“ _Don’t worry about us,_ ” Vette said, and her voice was as soft as Quinn’s had been. Devi laughed, perhaps slightly too sharply, and shook her head to herself.

“As prone to trouble as the pair of you are? That’s easier said than done.”

“ _Us? Get in trouble? I think you’ll find that that’s **your** speciality,_” the other woman replied, and she was trying for a teasing tone, Devi knew. She even mostly succeeded.

“No,” she told her, managing to find a bit of snark, “I believe _my_ speciality is getting _you out_ of trouble.”

“ _And mine is getting you **both** out of trouble_,” Quinn spoke up, and this time, her laugh was more genuine. There was a moment of silence, and when he continued, his voice was as tender as it had ever been. “ _I’m sure you’re tired after such a long day._ ”

“Quinn-” she tried, and he cut her off.

“ _Get some rest, Devi_.”

Her heart lurched in her chest.

“ _We will still be here in the morning,_ ” he told her, and there was a note of command to his tone. She had to bite back something of a broken laugh. Quinn was rarely firm with her, but when he was… “ _We will **always** be here for you._”

‘ _I love you,_ ’ she thought. ‘ _I love both of you_.’

“Alright, you tyrant,” she said, and when all three of them laughed, it was a soft sound that said more than words ever could. “But don’t think I won’t call you at some ungodly time in the morning when I’m forced to get up by an overeager young angel.”

“ _I quiver in my boots at the thought_ ,” he replied, his tone completely deadpan. She and Vette laughed both, and the smile her lips turned into was a true one.

“Good night Quinn. Good night Vette.”

“ _Good night,_ ” they told her, their voices quietly overlapping. Silence fell, and she laid there unmoving, listening to it. She wasn’t sure how long it was before the line finally clicked off, but it wasn’t long enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Contrary to her prediction, it wasn’t Luke who woke her; rather, she woke to an airy, sweet humming and a burst of light as it flickered into existence around her. Devi grimaced, her entire face scrunching with her distaste, and only barely resisted the urge to bury herself deeper into the heavenly ( _demonly?_ ) comfortable, luxurious bedding she’d fallen asleep wrapped up in.

“ _Must_ you, Simeon?” she huffed instead, even as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Despite her protest, she was already wide awake; living in a political ( _and later literal_ ) battleground for most of her life meant she’d long ago trained herself to wake instantly and at the slightest provocation. “I was rather looking forward to _not_ being awakened by bright morning light now that we’re in the Devildom.”

That had been one of the distinct drawbacks to the time she’d spent in the Celestial Realm once things had gotten rolling; there _was_ no night there. There was nothing but eternal day, eternal sunshine, and hell if it hadn’t wreaked havoc on her sleep cycle before she’d eventually gotten used to it. She really _had_ been looking forward to a little darkness, especially in the morning.

Her angelic advisor-slash-tutor-slash-guardian-slash-tormentor simply chuckled in reply though, continuing to light each of the bedroom lanterns in turn with a flick of his wrist. She rolled her eyes at him, shoving aside the thick duvet from atop her, and pushed herself out of bed, uncaring of whether he got an eyeful of the lingerie she’d gone to sleep in or not; he’d invited himself into her room, he could deal with the consequences. Which, on that subject;

“Do we know who picked out all the extra clothing in the closet?” Because, right alongside with everything she’d had brought with her, the main closet had been full of _other_ things as well. Things like the gold trimmed, red and black babydoll nightie she was wearing now ( _and god, it was as sinfully soft against her skin as it was perfectly fitted to her measurements_ ), many of which were rather risque. They hadn’t been there when she’d left her suite before meeting with Diavolo and his queens, her own clothing only partially filling the closet, but by the time they'd returned from the palace tour, it had been overfull.

Simeon’s eyes flitted over to her briefly; she grinned as they immediately slipped away again, a flush washing across his cheeks. He coughed into one hand, turning his back to her and fussing with the curtains of the large window on one wall, and answered,

“If it’s all like that, you most likely have Asmo to thank.”

“Red isn’t my usual color,” she said, making her way over to the dressing table on the far side of the room, admiring the way she looked in the mirror, “but he certainly has good tastes. Do I want to know how he got my measurements?”

“I would defer _that_ question to Solomon, since it certainly wasn’t from Luke or I,” he told her, and when she glanced back at him, he was only half turned toward her, just barely looking at her from the corner of his eyes. Laughing to herself, she decided to take pity on him. There was a gold trimmed, red robe that matched the nightie, and she’d left it draped over the dressing table’s chair last night; she picked it up and made a show of slipping it on and tying it closed around her waist. “As for the color, I imagine he chose it for King Diavolo; red, black, and gold are _his_ colors.”

“You can look,” she told him, her voice teasing, and when he turned fully to look at her again, she smirked. “Next time you decide you want to surprise me in the morning, maybe you’ll remember this.”

“I’m sure I will,” Simeon murmured under his breath, although she caught it anyway. Her grin widened, but she didn’t comment in return; instead, she turned and moved towards the door to the main closet.

“So,” she started as she opened the door and slipped inside; she heard his footsteps as he followed her to the door, and then stopped there. “What’s on the schedule for today?”

“Mostly lessons,” he answered, and she nodded before starting to rifle through the new clothing that hung on the racks. “Breakfast is in an hour, and it will be just us, Luke, and Solomon. You’ll have lessons with me until noon, at which point we’ll break for lunch. Beel will be joining us; he and Luke will be working together to handle the dining options for the wedding, and they should have chosen a caterer for us to sample today.”

“Beel?” she questioned; she assumed he meant the sixthborn, but she also knew better than to operate simply on assumptions when it came to anything to do with either of the other realms.

“Beelzebub,” Simeon confirmed, and she nodded, mostly to herself. She hadn’t gotten to interact with him much the night before; she was glad to have the chance to correct that so soon.

“What’s he like,” she asked, curiosity tinging her voice.

“In some ways,” the angel answered, his tone considering and thoughtful, “of all the brothers, Beel is the one who’s changed the least since their Fall. He struggles with his Sin, as they all do, but while it at times leads his actions, his love for his family is deep; he is exceedingly loyal to his brothers, and to Lucifer and Belphie in particular.”

There was a question on the tip of her tongue, one that had been there for some time now. She had deliberately chosen not to broach it while they were in the Celestial Realm, far too aware of how far Michael’s reach extended there, and how much disdain he held towards the demons; Michael had no reach _here_ , though, and so she finally asked, “How long have you known them, Simeon? The brothers.”

“For as long as I have existed.”

The words were painted with bittersweetness, enough so that the shirt Devi had been admiring dropped from her hand as she turned to look at Simeon. He was half turned from her again, his face hidden in shadow. She didn’t need to see the look in his eyes to understand the emotion thick in his voice, though- not when it brought to mind echoes of Quinn and Vette’s voices from the night before. He seemed to shake himself then, and continued.

“Lucifer and his brothers were some of the first angels created by our Father. I was created some time later, and Lucifer was something of a mentor to me.”

There was a strange hitch to his words, one that said more than enough. Rather than press the subject, she turned back to grab the shirt she’d been eying. Pulling it from the rack, she turned to Simeon with a flourish, holding it against her robe.

“What do you think? Casual enough for a day of lessons, but dressy enough to meet with one of the Queens of Hell?” It was a metallic gold fabric that she half suspected had _actual_ gold in it, in a sleeveless wrap style that would have as plunging a neckline once on as its hem was cropped above the waist. She gave him a playful grin as he looked over and his cheeks flushed once more, a surprised ‘ _eh_ ’ escaping him. Then, huffing out a laugh, he shook his head and turned fully to face her.

“Perhaps save it for Asmo; I’m not sure Beel is the right target audience for such a blouse, as his eyes will most likely be focused on the selection of food we’ll be sampling.” He paused, and then he chuckled again, adding, “You no longer need to dress to shock, you know; the queens won’t have quite the same reaction to such clothing as Michael did.”

Her grin widened at that, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “He _was_ rather fun to rile up.” _God_ had he been fun to tease. Of all the angels she’d met during her time in the Celestial Realm, Michael had by far been the stiffest, stuffiest, _grimmest_ one of them all. He’d put even Lucifer’s serious and cold attitude to shame, making the fallen angel look lively in comparison. And he had _not_ like having to deal with her mother ( _not that she blamed him for that one, she hated dealing with her mother too_ ), nor had he particularly enjoyed working with Devi herself either; she had a feeling he didn’t like working with _anyone_ he couldn’t control.

“But who’s to say that I dress for _other_ people’s shock,” she continued after a moment, even as she hung the shirt back up. She _did_ have lessons with Simeon first, after all, she didn’t need to tease _him_ all day.

“Oh there’s no doubt that you dress for yourself,” the angel answered, and he was smiling. “There’s no doubt that you dress for effect either; you said it yourself yesterday.”

Okay, he had her there. She laughed and pulled down another shirt, this one a sleeveless black crop top with a _much_ higher neckline. She asked, “Better?”

“Better,” he said with a nod, the amusement in his eyes clear.

“Good. Shoo then, unless you want to stick around for the show; I need to get ready.” She made a _shooing_ motion with her free hand, and Simeon laughed.

“Are you trying to tempt an angel?” he teased. Devi winked at him.

“ _Always_. Now seriously, out.”

This time she waved the shirt itself at him and, chuckling once more, he turned and headed out.

_____________________________________

The first half of the day passed in something of a blur. Breakfast, despite now happening in the demon king’s palace in Devildom, and despite the differences in cuisine, _felt_ just like it had while they’d been in the Celestial Realm; she teased Simeon and Solomon who teased her in return, they both teased Luke playfully, and all four of them smiled and laughed with each other. She got to see her first ‘Little D,’ as the little creatures ( _the little **demons**_ ) had seemingly been in charge of the meal, coming and going through all of breakfast. Solomon had been right: they _did_ seem to seep magic itself, their round, shadowy little bodies floating not far from the floor, with what seemed like wispy black smoke trailing and curling off of them anytime they moved. Lessons with Simeon came after breakfast, a mix of history of the Celestial Realm and angelology; they _had_ been about ready to start on demonology as well, but when she brought it up, Simeon just grinned at her and reminded her that _Lucifer_ would be covering that now instead. ( _She really did need to make sure to get him back for that dammit, maybe Solomon would help her come up with something._ ) Then it was time to break for lunch, and a Little D. appeared to lead her and Simeon back to the smaller dining room they’d had breakfast in.

When they arrived, Luke and Beelzebub ( _looking much less demonic than he had last night, which wasn’t too surprising; more often than not, both Lucifer and Barbatos had taken human form during negotiations_ ) were already there and deep in conversation over a catalog of what she assumed was food. Devi paused in the doorway to watch, wanting to see a little of what the sixthborn was like before he became aware of their presence; Simeon almost bumped into her at the abrupt change of pace, just barely catching himself. He gave her an amused look, immediately sussing out her intentions, but settled in beside her to watch as well.

She was used to the way Luke seemed to react to any and all demons regardless of the situation, bristling and angry and suspicious of anything and everything they did or _might_ do. It had been an issue more than a few times during negotiations, even if it was usually soothed over through she and Simeon’s joint efforts. That wasn’t what she was seeing now. Instead, Luke was deep in his element, talking confidently with the avatar of gluttony regarding some of the desert possibilities in the catalog, perfectly holding his own and almost _even keeled_ , considering that it was a demon he was talking to. Beelzebub was just as engaged in the conversation as Luke, his dark violet eyes lit with the same kind of excitement he’d directed at his food over dinner the night before; his back and forth with the young angel was friendly,and it was clear that he was holding his own, that he was _just_ as knowledgeable as Luke when it came to baking and cooking. As the conversation veered away from deserts and towards main course and entree options, it was certainly clear that he was _much_ better versed in them than Luke. He could have wielded that knowledge like a weapon against the angel, as Lucifer often had when tormenting him; instead Beelzebub remained just as even and kind as he had been the entire time, offering suggestions and extra commentary rather than taking over the discussion.

“Not quite what you’d expect from one of the seven Queens of Hell, hmmm?” Solomon’s voice behind her was almost enough to make her start, as close as he was- close enough so that she could _feel_ the warmth of his breath on the shell of her ear. Rather than jump, she turned quickly and swatted lightly at him, drawing an amused laugh from the sorcerer.

“You should _know_ better than to sneak up on me like that,” she told him, her tone mostly playful; had she not been so familiar with his voice and presence at this point, or had it not been so long since the active fighting of the war had finally stopped, he might have gotten much more than a simple swat.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t have let your guard down so far,” he teased in return, reminding her with a smirk, “You _are_ in the Devildom now.”

“I am,” she acknowledged, and half laughed as she rolled her eyes and added, “With two of my guardians present, and the last just arriving.”

“And if I had been a demon sent to assassinate you by one of the factions unhappy with the alliance of the three realms?” The words were a question, and he arched a challenging eyebrow at her.

“Then, if Simeon had not gotten to you first, I would have stabbed you.” It took less than a second to slip the small dagger from its hiding place in the waistband of her pants, palming it and pointing it towards Solomon’s chest. She smirked as he shook his head in mock disappointment.

“No defensive spells? Don’t tell me that you haven’t been practicing.” He was laughing silently now, his eyes shining with amusement.

“You know perfectly well that I’ve been practicing,” she huffed with a laugh, and tucked the dagger back into place. “I simply prefer a good offense over a weak defense.”

“You can do both,” Simeon said from beside her, his tone a little more serious than either hers or Solomon’s, although it was still light compared to how Luke probably would have reacted. “Even _your_ skill with a blade would likely be insufficient to stop a demon powerful enough to sneak into the Demon King’s palace.”

Whatever answer she might have given- because he _did_ have a point, much as she was loath to admit it- was lost as Luke finally looked up, their little discussion having managed to draw his attention away from his conversation with Beelzebub.

“Oh, you’re here!” It was an almost squawked exclamation, the small angel grinning brightly as he stepped away from Beelzebub and the catalog. The demon stepped back as well, closing the book and looking up with a small smile of his own. Unlike Luke, there was no surprise in his eyes, and she wondered when exactly he had noticed their arrival, even as involved in the discussion with Luke as he had been.

“The food should be here in a minute,” Beelzebub told them, his tone happy and warm in a way she hadn’t expected it to be. Perhaps she should have, given Solomon’s commentary, and how happy he had seemed during dinner the night before. She mused to herself that, repeatedly, the demons she was meeting here in the Devildom, the _leaders_ of the realm, kept defying her expectations. Perhaps it was time to set aside _all_ expectations.

“So from where did you choose for today's meal,” Solomon asked as he moved around Devi and Simeon to head towards the table. “Would it be anywhere I know?”

“We decided to start with Ristorante Six,” Beelzebub answered, and Devi followed after Solomon. Simeon moved with her, Luke and Beelzebub leaving the counter and heading over as well.

“We’ve already ruled out a few other places,” Luke said, and Devi was somewhat shocked when he sat down beside the demon. “For our first tasting, though, it makes sense to start with the most prestigious restaurant in the realm.”

“It does, yes,” Simeon said, and shot her an amused look as he sat down beside Luke. Shaking her head, Devi smiled back and decided to take the seat beside Solomon, across from Beelzebub.

“Will the food for the wedding be exclusively Devildom cuisine,” she asked curiously. As if on cue, with all five of them now seated, one of the kitchen doors opened to admit several well dressed demons carrying trays of food.

She watched with mild fascination as they laid out the food on the table; unlike their queen, none of them had taken human form ( _although she wasn’t sure if they **could** , she remembered Simeon explaining that the ability to hide demonic features was in direct correlation to a demon’s power_), varying horns, wings, tails, and inhuman skin tones and textures on display. They moved with silence and grace, navigating the space of the smaller dining hall with ease, neither wings nor tails disturbing anything around them. The spread of food was finished amazing fast; it wasn’t _as_ fast as it had been the previous night, but then, they weren’t using magic this time. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, all but one filed back out the door.

“If you have need of anything, my Queen,” the last one said, all their attention directed at Beelzebub, “we will be awaiting your call in the kitchen.” The queen nodded, and the last server disappeared through the door after its companions.

“Not _just_ Devildom cuisine,” Beelzebub finally answered, and his face lit up, his voice lifting as he continued. “We’re going to arrange for food from the Celestial Realm and your own world as well.” He paused as he began to fill his plate, and added, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had either, I’m looking forward to it.”

_Hell_ if there wasn’t something adorable about how excited he looked at the prospect, and Devi couldn’t quite keep from grinning a little.

“It’s a shame you weren’t able to join us during the negotiations,” she told him. She kept half an eye on Solomon’s plate as she spoke, watching to see what he chose before adding anything to her own plate; the sorcerer may have been thousands of years old, but as far as she knew, he was still limited to human-safe foods. “As the negotiations took place at King Raziela’s palace, she had only the best food from around the world served for our guests.”

Her mother might not have held any _respect_ for either angels or demons, but she was far too intelligent to do anything that would _insult_ such powerful beings, such as serving inferior foods.

“Lucifer was very,” the demon across from her hesitated, seemingly considering his words carefully, “adamant about letting any of us to go with him. It was very important to him that the negotiations went well.”

Now _that_ was an interesting note. While Lucifer had never been outright hostile or insulting during the negotiations, neither had he hidden his distaste for both her mother and for Michael. Of course, neither her mother _nor_ Michael had hidden their disdain for Lucifer and for each other either. ( _Negotiations had been… rather ‘exciting’ at times._ ) As Devi thought back, however, Lucifer _had_ always been very careful about adhering to the letter of any and all etiquette, never giving any reason for the representatives of the other realms to find fault with he or Barbatos, never giving them any mistakes that they might use as leverage against the Devildom.

“I know that you and your brothers each rule over your own Sin,” she said, being just as careful of her own words. “Does Lucifer handle most of the politics _between_ the domains of each Sin, or between the Devildom and the Celestial Realm?”

( _She tried to imagine Lucifer and Michael dealing with each other on a regular basis… It would either be an absolute nightmare, or something to sit back and popcorn over. Perhaps both. Probably_ _both._ )

Beelzebub shook his head and tried to answer, but his mouth was full of food, having just taken a large bite, and it muffled his words enough that she couldn’t quite parse them. Simeon spoke up in his stead.

“King Diavolo himself handles relations with the Celestial Realm, although Lucifer sometimes attends with him. As for the domains of Sin…”

“There aren’t too many issues between the Sins themselves,” Solomon picked up the thread easily, as Beelzebub was swallowing down the rest of the food. “There are often issues between _individual_ demons of different Sins, but those are handled by battles between the demons themselves. It’s rare that such disputes rise high enough that mediation between the domains of Sin are required.”

“Battles?” Both her eyebrows went up at that, and her fork paused halfway up before she lowered it once more. Well _that_ was more seemingly hell-like than most of what she’d found in the Devildom so far. Solomon chuckled at her response, but it was Beelzebub who actually answered this time.

“Dance battles,” he explained. His answer only made her eyebrows rise higher. _Dance_ battles? Demons had _dance battles_ to settle arguments? “Disputes used to be settled with the kind of duels you’re thinking about, but Diavolo put an end to that a few centuries ago; too many lives were being lost, and he wanted to find a more peaceful way to handle inter-demon conflicts.” He paused to shovel another inhumanly large amount of food into his mouth, and Solomon picked up the explanation again.

“The method of settling disputes has changed a few times since then; it’s been everything from wrestling matches to chess games to rock, paper, scissors at one point, if I remember correctly.”

Devi tried to picture a pair of angry demons playing rock, paper, scissors to settle a fight. She really, really couldn’t.

“I believe the king settled on dance battles in the early nineteen-thirties, after they became popular in the human world, although- dance battles here have always been rather different than the early dance competitions on earth.” There was an amused twinkle in Solomon’s eye. As she tried to decide whether or not it was worth his mischief to question him, Beelzebub swallowed and spoke again.

“One of my brothers or I can take you to see one sometime, if you’re curious. Sometimes, if a dispute gets pushed high enough, we take part in the battle ourselves.”

Luke, who had been heavily focused on the food as they spoke, finally looked up at that, scowling. “You can’t take Devi to one of those, it’s too dangerous for her! I’ve been to one, and you demons aren’t mindful at _all_ about how you throw magic around during the battles!”

“Well then, you’ll just have to come with me, won’t you?” Devi grinned as she quickly cut the angel’s protest off at the knees. She was _far_ too curious about demons having _dance battles_ to let the most bristly of her guardians keep her from going. Turning her gaze to the demon across from her, still grinning, she told him, “I’d love to go with you sometime, Beelzebub. It sounds like it would be fun.”

If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought she saw a light dusting of pink on his cheeks before he looked back down at his plate, telling her, “‘Beel.’” Then, looking back up to give her a small smile, he added, “Call me ‘Beel.’ Like you said yesterday, there’s no need to be formal with me.”

Okay, he was definitely blushing just a little. It was… adorable. Why were so many of the rulers of hell _adorable_? And _how_?

“Beel it is, then,” she replied, and her own smile warmed. “I’d love to go with you sometime, Beel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: the idea of dance battles being an actual thing isn't my idea, I know I've seen it in fic before, I just. Don't remember _which one_. ^^;

**Author's Note:**

> As always, many thanks to my wife, [Gyhl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyhl), who is my beta and who gets to put up with me shoving stuff at them and praying that it's okay. XD Many thanks to m'darlin' [PhantomFox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomFox/pseuds/PhantomFox) for helping beta as well!
> 
> Devi also features in my Soulmate AU, '[Nine Parts of a Whole](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27302362),' and in my series '[Of Love and Demons Loved](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760449),' set in the normal Obey Me universe. If you're curious what she looks like, I have a [character visual reference post](https://panickedpansexualprincess.tumblr.com/post/615583468262457344/a-visualization-post-for-my-mc-devi-from-obey-me) over on tumblr!
> 
> If you're on tumblr, you can find me at [PanickedPansexualPrincess](http://PanickedPansexualPrincess.tumblr.com).


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